Chapter 571 Know Yourself and Know Your Enemy

The Office of the Minister of Rites.

Li Mao walked in without waiting for the guard to report, went straight to Li Zhengqing's study, and said:

"I heard that all the things sent to the Yan Mansion were returned?"

Li Zhengqing raised his eyes from behind the book and asked, "When will you learn to knock on the door?"

"We grew up wearing the same pants, why are you knocking on the door?"

Li Mao pulled over a chair and sat down without hesitation, "It seems Yan Zheng doesn't intend to agree with us?"

"Giving gifts was just a test. His reaction was expected." Li Zhengqing's gaze returned to the book.

"What do we do now?"

"Don't worry, take your time."

Li Mao snorted and laughed, and said unhappily: "Not in a hurry? Do you know that Yan Zheng has a younger sister at home who is in her prime?"

Li Zhengqing nodded. The girl's name was Yan Xue, and he had met her once before.

"I heard that the Queen Mother has already made some moves. It seems that she wants to act as a matchmaker and arrange a marriage for Yan Xue."

Li Mao rested his hands on Li Zhengqing's desk and emphasized:

"The position of the commander of the imperial guards is so important. It's fine if Yan Zheng doesn't want to help us, but we must not be lured over by the Queen Mother!

If it doesn't work, we have to find a way to replace our own people."

"Yan Zheng is the commander of the imperial guards appointed by the late emperor. Unless he makes a big mistake, we can't touch him, otherwise we will give him something to blame." Li Zhengqing paused, and then said, "But people like him are self-righteous and value reputation. They won't be easily won over by the empress dowager."

Li Mao scratched his hair in annoyance, "Forget it... I have never been able to argue with you since I was a child."

He walked around the study for a while, and finally snatched the book from Li Zhengqing's hand and pulled him up.

“I heard that Baomozhai in the city has recently received a batch of calligraphy and paintings, many of which are works by famous artists, as well as several paintings of ladies left over from the previous dynasty.

Come on, come on, take a look with me!"

…

Li Zhengqing was dragged by Li Mao to the streets of the capital.

The two of them headed towards Baomozhai. As they passed a street, they suddenly saw a long queue in front of them.

Most of the people in the team were young women. Although the team was long and many girls looked a little anxious, no one left the team.

Li Zhengqing felt a little surprised and stopped. Only then did he see clearly that the reason why so many people were queuing was the rouge shop called "Xiang Lai'er".

Xiang Lai'er was well-known in Daliang, so Li Zhengqing had naturally heard of her.

He also knew that this was once a shop founded by the Queen Mother, but now it had changed hands and was owned by Tongyun Money House.

Queen Mother...Tongyun Money House?

Something seemed to flash through Li Zhengqing's mind for a moment, but it was difficult to capture for a moment, and he couldn't help but frown.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar figure.

Yan Xue was also standing in the long queue in front of Xianglai'er's door. She was about to line up. She had her back to this side and did not notice Li Zhengqing's appearance.

A hand appeared in front of Li Zhengqing and waved, "What are you looking at?"

Li Zhengqing pointed with his chin, "That's Yan Zheng's sister, Yan Xue."

Li Mao followed her gaze and nodded, "From the side, she looks like a pretty girl."

He turned to look at Li Zhengqing, then at Yan Xue, his eyes suddenly became teasing, and he said something in Li Zhengqing's ear.

"Not good?" Li Zhengqing said.

Li Mao grinned, showing his dandy attitude:

"What's the big deal? You two are a handsome man and a beautiful woman. How can it not be fate that you met here?

Instead of waiting for her to be arranged a marriage by the Queen Mother, it would be better to... hehe, keep the wealth within the family.

——Okay, okay, you are a gentleman, don’t worry about what happens next.”

Li Mao looked around and came up with a plan. He winked at Li Zhengqing slyly and walked away quickly.

Yan Xue entered Xianglaier. The servants in the mansion had already delivered the ordered invitation. Yan Xue took the rouge and softener that had been prepared. She stayed in the shop for a while, tried a few new products, and then left with satisfaction.

As she stepped out of Xianglaier's threshold, she heard someone screaming outside.

Then someone pulled her and Yan Xue screamed in fright, and a loud noise was heard behind her.

It turned out that a plaque on the upstairs had somehow fallen down.

If someone hadn't helped her, she would have been dead by now.

Yan Xue's heart was beating wildly, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. With tears in her eyes, she looked up and saw a handsome face.

"Li...Master Li?"

Li Zhengqing had already let go of her, took a step back, and closed the folding fan in his hand:

"The situation was critical just now. I am sorry for my intrusion. I hope Miss Yan will forgive me."

He had a good-looking appearance to begin with, and he was not wearing any official uniform, so at this moment he looked like a handsome young man.

"Yan Xue thanks Lord Li for saving my life..." Yan Xue stroked her chest which was beating violently and bowed to him.

Li Zhengqing smiled and said that today's chance meeting was fate, and invited Yan Xue to go to the teahouse opposite and sit for a while to calm down.

Yan Xue blushed slightly and nodded in agreement.

…

Early in the morning, Yan Xue opened the door. The sun was shining outside and the birds were singing and the flowers were blooming.

She was in a very good mood, and her appearance after careful grooming and dressing was even more lovable. She was about to go out humming a cheerful tune.

Yan Xue was carrying a bamboo basket as she walked through the sunny garden. Just as she was about to push open the gate of Yan's residence, she suddenly heard Yan Zheng's voice from behind her:

"where you go?"

Yan Xue was startled and turned around to find that Yan Zheng was actually sitting in the yard, looking at her with a sullen face.

"Brother? Why are you——"

Yan Xue subconsciously hid the bamboo basket in her hand behind her.

Normally, my brother would have gone to the palace to report for duty at this time. Why didn’t he go today?

Yan Zheng walked up to her step by step, stretched out his hand, and asked her to take out the things.

Yan Xue had no choice but to slowly hand over the bamboo basket, which contained many scattered papers.

Yan Zheng picked it up and saw that it was all poetry. Even though he was not good at writing, he could tell that there was a lot of affectionate writing in it.

Anger immediately crept onto Yan Zheng's face:

"If the servant hadn't told me secretly, I really wouldn't have known that you were having secret meetings with that Li every day! You, you are simply -"

After all, I couldn't bring myself to say any harsh words.

Yan Xue's temper also flared up, she snatched the poem from his hand and said:

"Lord Li saved my life and he is also very talented. I had a great time talking with him about poetry and classics.

Besides, our meeting was open and aboveboard, so what law did we break? How could it be what you call a 'secret meeting'? "

"You, you--" Yan Zheng was interrupted by the girl and his speechless problem came back again. In the end, he could only wave his hands.

"Anyway, I don't allow you to see him again!"

After saying that, Yan Zheng summoned all the servants in the house and repeatedly ordered that from today on, the young lady was not allowed to step out of the house again.

Yan Xue returned to the room with red eyes and closed the door heavily.

Yan Zheng was angry and helpless, and only hoped that this method could stop Yan Xue from thinking about him.

…

It is a rare occasion for everyone to gather in the Imperial Fragrance Pavilion.

Qiao Youyou arranged a dozen palm-sized wooden signs in front of everyone.

On each wooden sign is a small painting, in which you can see a man and a woman, either sitting and talking opposite each other, or practicing calligraphy and painting side by side, showing their intimacy.

Qiao Youyou leaned back in her chair and snapped her fingers. Her bright eyes seemed to be full of light and her voice was brisk:

"This is what the 'Eyes in the Sky' I arranged to find out in various places in the city. It seems that Minister Li is scheming very hard."

The so-called "Sky Eyes" are the spies that Qiao Youyou and Wenren Yuebai spent a huge amount of money to buy, train, and spread throughout the capital.

They disguise themselves as beggars or businessmen, in short, all kinds of people, and they hardly attract any attention.

A wooden sign was gently picked up.

Zhu Lan looked at the distant scene of two people boating on the lake in the painting, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"As an outsider, he is trying to win over the imperial guards... It seems that the Li family really has big plans."

"What should we do now?" Zhao Sicheng asked, "If these two really get together, we will be in big trouble."

Zhu Lan thought about it, slowly put the wooden sign back, and said in a deep voice:

"Let's keep our troops in place for now. We can take this opportunity to see if the commander of the imperial guards is truly upright... or just pretending to be upright.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in danger of a hundred battles."